Brazil builds undersea internet cable to protect online privacy

The 5,600km cable from Brazil to Portugal is expected to be completed in 2016

Bryan Christie Design

This article was taken from the April 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

Angered by Edward Snowden's revelations on the wiretapping habits of tri-lettered American agencies, Brazil is taking the internet into its own hands -- and giving Uncle Sam the middle finger. Right now most internet traffic between South America and Europe travels through the overly inquisitive US, but that's about to change. Next year, Brazil's Telebrás and Spain's IslaLink will begin laying £120 million worth of undersea internet cable to span the 5,600km of Atlantic Ocean between Fortaleza, Brazil, and Lisbon, Portugal. The Americans can just follow their allies' activities on Facebook like everyone else.

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Outer casing Mylar (or tar-soaked nylon yarn) is wrapped around the pipe's internal components. An outer layer of polyethylene, a hard plastic used in water bottles, protects it from ship anchors and bites from data-hungry sharks.

Steel wire This protects it from the water pressure and makes it strong enough to hang from the ship to the sea floor without breaking while it's being laid.

Aluminium barrier A watertight layer prevents moist air from interfering with the polycarbonate shield and relieves the weight of the water pressure on the cable.

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Gel filling An aluminium, copper, or steel tube surrounds the optical fibres, suspended in an airtight and water-insoluble fluid such as petroleum jelly.

Glass fibres Keystrokes send pulses of light down silica-glass cables. At 194,600km per second, each pulse takes 0.027 seconds to travel from Brazil to Portugal.